Today my group made our second university trip to tour Kobe University! In comparison to Keio University which we toured earlier, Kobe is very small, and is a public university for those wishing to specialize in foreign studies and language learning. However, after conversing with the university’s president, we learned that attending a public university as opposed to a private university is much more valuable on a resume in Japan. Public universities require higher academics in students in order to be accepted and often hold more networking opportunities than private universities. In addition to that, public universities are immune to the bribes that some private universities receive.
Welcome to Kobe!
Though Kobe had a very small campus as compared to Michigan State, it had a very warm atmosphere and very friendly students. While conversing with the students, I found that the majority that I talked to all worked part time jobs and were extremely diligent in their studies, some knowing more than three languages. Some had just arrived months ago and were already using near fluent English. Other students mentioned that they spent their free time on the weekend attending cram school. You can tell by the students kindness and rigid work schedules why Kobe is one of the top universities in Japan!
After a brief campus tour, we stopped by a nearby shrine for some photo shoots. Here is Dan Losh and I with our good friend American-san in the background:
Afterwards, we went out to eat at a vegetarian restaurant and enjoyed vegetable pizza, tenpura, cheese fondue and strawberry shortcake for dessert with two of our tour guides. It was truly a fun day that presented a variety of cultural experiences. It’s been a week since I’ve come to Japan and I never want to leave!
Adventures in Japan (日本の冒険) 
The Kobe City University of Foreign Studies is a special place. As I know, there are only 12 graduate students in the university, and they are divided by several majors. In that case, maybe even there are only 1-2 students in one major. The president’s speech of University is really nice.
The students at Kobe were all really nice, and a lot of them spoke English really well. Their campus might have been small, and they might not have had nearly as many students as the larger Universities, but it seemed like a very welcoming and comfortable place. If I chose to major in any of their majors, I would definitely consider going to a school like that. I made friends with a few of the students there and we even exchanged Line and Facebook information, so I would say that our trip was a success! The Kobe steak dinner was fantastic, so I hope your vegetarian dinner was equally as delicious!
I really enjoyed the talk with the university’s president. He shared his great knowledge about education and business. For a small campus like the Kobe City University of Foreign Language, to be a specialist of minority languages is a very competitive strategy for their students. As the head of the college, he really consider things in a students’ perspective, and hope a 4 year education in a public school can benefit them as much as possible.